M4 smart Motorway accelerated

Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Duncan Gay today announced the NSW Government was fast tracking smart technology on the M4 to slash travel times for Western Sydney motorists.

“Next week’s Budget will include a further $15 million to help get the project shovel ready sooner,” Mr Gay said.

“Today marked the start of ground investigation work, which is the first step to getting this piece of genius installed on the M4 Motorway to cut travel times by up to 15 minutes.

“This extra 15 minutes could be the difference between getting home to see your children before they go to bed.

“Smart motorways will be the future of our road network and the 100,000 motorists who use the M4 every day will be the first to benefit from this congestion-busting technology in NSW.

“Merging traffic slows down everyone, sometimes to a standstill. In simple terms, this technology will make lane merging easier, keeping traffic moving and getting you home faster.”

The M4 Smart Motorway will include innovative technologies like:

Traffic sensors located at about 500 metre intervals on the motorway, and on entry and exit ramps, to detect changes in traffic flow in real time;

Coordinated, quick-changing entry ramp signals to keep traffic flowing on the motorway and make merging easier and safer;

New lane use management gantries to open and close lanes in response to incidents;

More variable message and speed limit signs – particularly before exit points; and

New electronic signs on approach roads to warn of traffic conditions and travel times.

The smart motorway technology will be complemented with infrastructure upgrades such as extended and widened exit and entry ramps, widening the M4 to four lanes in each direction between the M7 and Roper Road, and new truck bypass lanes to keep slow vehicles off the main motorway at key sections.

The intelligent technology will be installed along a 36 kilometre stretch of the M4 Motorway between Pitt Street at Merrylands and Lapstone, one of the busiest stretches of road in Sydney.

Ground investigation work will help determine the nature of the ground and bedrock material along the proposed length to be widened and will be used to inform the review of environmental factors for the project.

The NSW Government has made a $395 million Rebuilding NSW funding allocation for the M4 Smart Motorway project. Major construction is expected to start in 2017 and be completed within three years.